Learn About Invasive Plants & Weeds - Garden Experiments

How to Get Rid of Creeping Charlie

Garden Experiments — Tue, 08 Aug 2023 19:15:12 +0000

You might find this low-growing plant with scalloped leaves creeping along the ground under tall trees where the soil is often moist. While its pale purple flowers of creeping Charlie (Glechoma hederacea) are cute, the quick growth of this plant is definitely not. Where is creeping Charlie from? Originally brought from Great Britain, Ireland, and […]

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Why You Should Avoid Planting Bradford Pears

Garden Experiments — Mon, 18 Apr 2022 15:02:06 +0000

Do you smell rotting mushrooms or fish when you’re outdoors right now? Don’t worry; it’s not just you. It’s the dreaded scent of Pyrus calleryana or the Bradford Pear tree. The Bradford pear tree puts on a lovely show of branches thick with white flowers. But, this tree has a dark side. It’s invasive! Native […]

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Japanese Honeysuckle vs Native Honeysuckle Vine

Garden Experiments — Sun, 12 Nov 2017 14:12:16 +0000

Have you ever plucked a honeysuckle flower, turned it around, and gently sucked the nectar from the tube-shaped back of the flower? If you grew up in the southeastern U.S., I bet you did. That taste of super-sweet honey nectar always makes me think of summer nights spent chasing fireflies and summer days spent running […]

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Chinese Wisteria: Beautiful but Deadly Vine with Purple Flowers

Garden Experiments — Sat, 18 Mar 2017 15:51:36 +0000

Wisteria vines bloom in early March, adding a sweet floral scent to the air. The flowers appear before the leaves. In the South, this vine is everywhere—in the forest, in neighborhoods, in rights-of-way, and even along highways. That is both the joy of and the pitfall of Chinese wisteria, which has purple flowers that grow […]

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How to Identify Wild Garlic and Get Rid of It

Garden Experiments — Tue, 21 Oct 2014 22:38:45 +0000

Wild Garlic (Allium vineale) can be difficult to remove from your garden. If you see one leaf, then you can be sure that more will soon be on its way. It’s not native to the U.S. and was introduced from Europe. Garlic is perennial, grows in clumps, and has hollow, round, grass-like leaves. If you’re […]

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Purple Deadnettle

Garden Experiments — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 22:10:12 +0000

A common early spring weed, purple deadnettle (Lamium purpureum) is a member of the mint family and grows in large clumps in lawns and in disturbed fields. Since it starts growing as early as April, it is often the only green (well, purplish green) thing in the lawn. Its tiny flowers serve as an early […]

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How To Identify Poison Ivy

Garden Experiments — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 13:15:14 +0000

Every gardener will encounter poison ivy at some point. It’s an important plant to be able to identify – even when it doesn’t have leaves. All parts of the plant are poisonous. While some people may not have a reaction to this plant, many will get an itchy, painful rash. The substance (uroshiol) that causes […]

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